SMEDAN, in partnership with Casava Insurance, has created the Business Gro initiative under its MSME Mass Registration Program (MMRP) to provide SMEDAN-registered businesses with access to exceptional value-added services and government benefits to commemorate this year’s World MSMEs Day.

Through the Business Gro Initiative, registered businesses with SMEDAN will have access to benefits such as:
1. SMEDAN Certificate with embedded SMEDAN Unique Identification Number (SUIN) confirming their business status.
2. Access to grants, loans, and other financial services through SMEDAN or in partnership with other development agencies.
3. Access to capacity building, training, and other business learning opportunities for the business owner and employees.
4. Business continuity cover against selected unforeseen circumstances impacting business operations.
5. Engender and fast-track market linkages, enterprise cooperation and enhanced regulatory oversight as congruent with the agency’s vision to establish a structured and efficient MSME sub-sector to encourage and enhance sustainable economic development.

Nigeria has more than 39.6 million Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) contributing up to 48% of Nigeria’s GDP; and over 59 million jobs as of 2022, which is well over 84% of the total labour force in Nigeria. Many of the MSMEs require access to capital, capacity building, access to markets, equipment, innovations, information, linkages, etc., to sustain, grow, and build their businesses into more profitable ventures.

The theme of this year’s celebration is “Building a Stronger Future Together.” In line with this, the Business Gro Initiative by SMEDAN and Casava seeks to address the challenges faced by MSMEs in Nigeria through the registration and provision of developmental benefits to informal and semi-formal MSMEs.

Speaking on the initiative, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Olawale Tunde Fasanya, said, “SMEs are the backbone of every economy, and they face many challenges affecting their ability to scale, especially due to their unstructured nature. SMEDAN Intends to position MSMEs for stronger and better performance as we have provided benefits to combat major setbacks faced by MSMEs, which include access to funds/credit facilities, insurance, training, etc., for a small fee” he added that “SMEDAN is fully committed to this initiative in the quest to ensure SMEs can fulfil their potential with proper guidance and exposure, avoid a business collapse that could drag business owners and employees deeper into poverty.”

“Our obligation to these MSMEs is to help them grow their business and ensure they can access every necessary information and linkages to becoming a generational business”, he concluded.

Owners of MSMEs can now visit https://smedanregister.ng/ to register their business with SMEDAN for free and gain subsidised access to various support services.

SMEDAN was established by the SMEDAN Act of 2003 to promote the development of the MSME sector of the Nigerian Economy, with a vision to develop a structured and efficient micro, small and medium enterprises sector that will enhance the sustainable economic development of Nigeria.